


Hide-and-seek

by pearl_o



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Gen, Siblings, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-26
Updated: 2012-02-26
Packaged: 2017-10-31 18:02:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/346893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pearl_o/pseuds/pearl_o
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raven always checks in with Charles after she's been out with her friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hide-and-seek

**Author's Note:**

  * For [helens78](https://archiveofourown.org/users/helens78/gifts).



Charles is in his room, rereading one of his biology books for the tenth time, when Raven gets home. She knocks on his door, and sticks in her head a moment later.

"Just wanted to let you know I'm home," she says, with a broad smile. "I know how you worry."

Charles scoffs at that, like it's ridiculous, even though it's completely true. A small part of him has been jumpy all evening, wondering if she's doing all right; he wouldn't have been able to sleep without knowing she was back. Of course, all Raven had to do was send him a quick mental affirmation - but she's been shying away from that lately, more and more. Where they used to communicate with each other easier than anything, the past few months it seems like Raven goes out of her way to do things differently. Everything's out loud or in person or even not at all, when it used to be just second nature. Charles doesn't understand it at all.

"That's nice," Charles says. He concentrates on staring at the page in front of him instead of looking at Raven. But she doesn't shut the door and leave, like he's expecting. Instead she stands there, leaning against the doorframe and watching him without saying anything.

Charles breaks before she does, of course. "Yes, what is it, Raven?" he says finally, closing the book in his lap with, perhaps, a slight trace of huffiness.

Raven's arms are folded across her chest, and she's smiling a little bit, like he's amusing her somehow. She really looks very pretty tonight; red has always been her color. "It was a really fun party," she says. She twists her ankle around playfully, causing the heel of her shoe to click against the floor.

Charles hates those shoes. They're too grown-up. When Raven wears them, she's taller than him, now. It's just another one of the things that keeps changing and feeling wrong.

"I'm glad to hear it," Charles says.

"You should have come, Charles." Raven pushes herself off of the doorframe, drifting into his bedroom. She stops at the armchair where he's sitting, and settles herself down on the arm, one hand steadying herself against the back, behind his head.

"I wasn't invited." Charles look back down at his book, and wonders if Raven would leave if he picked it up and started reading again. He doubts it.

"No one would have cared," Raven says, rolling her eyes - an all-too-familiar gesture from her these days. "Honestly, Charles, it's not like people _dislike_ you. If you tried at all, you could have plenty of friends."

"I know what people think about me," Charles says. He's tried to explain it to Raven before, but he knows it hasn't made sense to her. Charles likes people - they're rather marvelous, actually, endlessly fascinating and new - but that's different from the sort of popularity Raven has, the sort she thinks everyone must want. Friendship is too difficult. Charles knows too much, and they don't know _enough_ , and he can't share any of it; it's a constant test, a tightrope walk, awkward and depressing and above all exhausting. He's always pleasant to people, friendly and nice, but he had come to terms with his aloneness long before Raven came into his life. She was just a happy exception.

Truthfully, he'd thought, back in the beginning, that it was going to be just the two of them, on and on. But apparently that wasn't enough for Raven.

"There were some pretty girls there," Raven says in a teasing voice, leaning in against him. "I bet Judy Wilson would have gone in the closet with you for Seven Minutes in Heaven."

He spins his head toward her. "You weren't playing that, I hope!"

"Why not?" Raven says. "It was fun. Spin the Bottle, too."

"Raven!"

"Charles!" She mockingly matches his shocked tone.

"You shouldn't-" Charles starts, and then tries again. "Boys won't respect you, you know-"

The expression on her face shuts him up. Interesting, he thinks, that she can look that annoyed and he can't feel it at all in her mind. She's getting better and better at hiding from him.

"Don't be an ass," Raven says. "You're not really my brother, Charles, and even if you were - you don't get to tell me what to do. Just because you're happy sitting here alone in your room with your stupid books-"

"My books aren't stupid," Charles mutters.

"You know what I mean."

She stands up, hands on her hips. Charles pulls up his legs from the floor, curling into a smaller ball in his chair.

"Maybe if _you_ went out and kissed somebody, you would be less of a fuddy-duddy. But you're just a jerk who sits at home and hides."

It's unfair. Charles has kissed girls - _plenty_ of girls. Raven doesn't even know what she's talking about. Girls think Charles is cute, and safe, and sweet, and they always follow him when he takes their hand and leads them somewhere private. But it's different for Raven. He knows how people think about her. Worse, he knows how much Raven _cares_ what they think. Those girls didn't matter to Charles, really. Everything matters to Raven. She's going to get her heart broken.

"I'm just trying to look out for you," Charles says.

"Well, just ... don't," Raven says. "I didn't ask you to."

Charles bites his lip, watching as she turns to stomp to his door. "Raven, wait," he says, just as she reaches the edge of the room.

She stops with her hand on the door, but doesn't turn her head. 

"Maybe we could do something together now?" Charles suggests. "Just you and me. Do you want to play a game?"

Raven is silent for a moment. "Not chess," she says. "You know I hate chess."

"Not chess," Charles agrees. He can feel the corners of his mouth begin to turn up, not quite a smile. "It's your choice. Whatever you want."

"Well," Raven says, stretching out the syllable. "All right. If we play Monopoly, can I be the race car?"

"I promise."

She turns her head then. He can see that she's still annoyed with him, but she's giving in; that's enough, for now, at least. "I'm going to change into pajamas. I'll meet you in the library in ten minutes."

"All right," Charles agrees. He watches as the door shuts behind her as she leaves.

He's left all alone in his room again - and somehow, now, he feels it more than ever.


End file.
